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SK-II returns to marriage pressure theme with docu-series featuring journalist Katie Couric

The latest campaign from SK-II is a docu-series called Timelines featuring investigative journalist Katie Couric. Created by Forsman & Bodenfors (Sweden, Singapore), Timelines is part of SK-II’s ‘Change Destiny’ platform and explores the subject of societal pressure to get married and live a conventional life. 

Set to run in Asia, Europe and the United States, Timelines saw Couric visiting four young women in Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and New York to chronicle the effects of these pressures.

 

The campaign continued to build on themes previously explored in ‘Marriage Market Takeover’, ‘Expiry Date’ and ‘Meet Me Halfway’. 

Speaking about her experience with ‘Timelines’, Couric said: “I was able to speak one-on-one with four incredibly strong women from around the globe who embodied this new generation of women writing their own rules to follow their dreams, while navigating the expectations of the ones who love them most. 

“It was illustrative of the power of a brand embracing a controversial topic and and creating an environment where conversations could take place and cultural change could actually happen. None of these things happen overnight, but I think the fact that a short film can really move people to talk about things that are difficult to talk about inspired me a lot.”

Global SK-II CEO Sandeep Seth said: “At SK-II, we are committed to using our voice to empower women to create their own destiny and overcome limitations placed on them, be it in skin or in life.

“We know that there are bigger issues our consumers — young working women — are struggling with beyond skin and beauty. Societal expectations and the pressures of being put in a ‘box’ of being the perfect woman.

“Marriage pressure forms a big part of this and is a highly relevant and real topic for women across countries and backgrounds. Katie Couric is the perfect partner to help uncover these unique perspectives and elevate this important conversation with ‘Timelines’. She shares our goal of inspiring women to challenge conventional norms and draw their own timelines. There’s still a lot to do, and this is just the beginning.”

In an interview conducted earlier this year, P&G’s global marketing director on SK-II Kylene Campos had spoken about the reasons the campaign ran with variations on the same idea and said: “What has kept us focused is the knowledge that this is a really big issue. It is over-simplistic to think one video or even three are going to solve the situation.

“The challenge we have imposed on ourselves as marketers is how do we bring the same thought and consistency of focus to life in fresh ways? We have been able to do that with different nuances of marriage pressure applied to the different campaigns.

“The more quickly we deviate from a core idea, the more defocused the brand becomes.”

 Credits:

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore

Client: SK-II 

Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore 

Art director: Johanna Hofman-Bang

Copywriter: Kalle Åkestam

Client director: Abbe Hale 

Campaign manager: Hongi Luo

Designer: Andrea Kellerman 

Motion graphics: Jason Feng 

Production: Radical Media 

Executive producer: Jim Bouvet 

Director: Mollie Mills 

Line Producer: Josh Barwick  

Production supervisor: Steven Kostyo 

Director of photography: Jordan Buck

Director of photography (New York): Kelly Jeffrey

Set designer: Laura Ochoa 

Editorial

Post production services: Outpost Digital  

Executive producer: Brendan Hermes 

Producer: Greg Netter

Editors: Grace McIntee, Lilli Rose Lyons, Emanuel Asamere

Assistant editor: Dana Nyberg 

Colourists: Josh Kanuck, Yohance Brown, Matthew Mascia, Matthew Schwab

Producer: James Uminowicz 

Associate producer: Arniesha Williams 

Post production coordinator: Whitney Yannacci

Lead technical engineer: Alexander Santoro 

Machine room operator: Sante Ferrante 

Junior post production technician: Gino Volpe

Senior producer: Michael D. Perlo

Associate producer: Kendra Darrow

Music/sound design:

Music company: Leland Music 

Composer: Edward Critchley

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